Database Develop

[Q] Seriously? Why does my new captivate constantly brick?

Sorry for the long read, this is half rant and half question.
Alright, I got a captivate a long time ago (about a year and 3 months ago), loved it, rooted it and installed cyanogenmod as soon as I got home, changed roms and kernals constantly, did whatever I wanted to do.
About 3 months ago my screen stopped working.. So I take it in and they give me a refurb captivate, looked brand new so I didn't mind. However, when I tried to get into recovery it didn't work, the 3-button-method just wouldn't work at all, period, so I try to get it to work, gets stuck in bootloop.. pretty much every time I try to flash a rom something goes wrong and I get stuck in a bootloop but I can usually get into recovery or download mode because I had CWM.
So I'm on maxq's rom and it's working great for the past 2 months, decide not to mess with kernals or anything, however today I decided to try ICS, load it up, everything's fine, then I realize my soft keys aren't working, search for awhile, can't find anything, finally just manually start looking through the rom pages, and someone said that if you have the problem to just odin back to stock and try again.
I odin back to stock, but now 3 button combo doesn't work.. So more searching, find that I can run the 3e fix by TRusselo, doesn't work because I need root, more searching on how to root without recovery, find "SuperOneClick", root with superoneclick, then run 3e fix, everything is working fine, I check my email and load the ICS files onto SD card, go to restart and go into recovery mode.. Bricked, stuck in a bootloop, won't go to recovery, won't go to download, nothing.
Why the **** was I able to do anything I wanted with my old captivate, but if I even root this one it bricks? And what did I do to even brick it? I only ran the 2 programs and both of them worked flawlessly.
I guess my only option is to usb jig it, but honestly now I'm convinced that the phone is just faulty, I want to run the thing over.

-Pirate said:
So I'm on maxq's rom and it's working great for the past 2 months, decide not to mess with kernals or anything, however today I decided to try ICS, load it up, everything's fine, then I realize my soft keys aren't working, search for awhile, can't find anything, finally just manually start looking through the rom pages, and someone said that if you have the problem to just odin back to stock and try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you would have actually searched you would have known it was a bug in the glitch. There are atleast 40 pages about that.
-Pirate said:
I odin back to stock, but now 3 button combo doesn't work.. So more searching, find that I can run the 3e fix by TRusselo, doesn't work because I need root, more searching on how to root without recovery, find "SuperOneClick", root with superoneclick, then run 3e fix, everything is working fine, I check my email and load the ICS files onto SD card, go to restart and go into recovery mode.. Bricked, stuck in a bootloop, won't go to recovery, won't go to download, nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flashed ICS you should know it takes 2 flashes for it to work first time. Having a jig around is always a good idea as well.
-Pirate said:
Why the **** was I able to do anything I wanted with my old captivate, but if I even root this one it bricks? And what did I do to even brick it? I only ran the 2 programs and both of them worked flawlessly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stuff doesn't work as intended. Keep in mind everything is still in dev and not all devices are the same. But you should have searched a little more and it would have ran =/

U def don't need a jig. If it's booting it's not bricked. Try removing battery, start Odin, hold down power and down, plug in and put battery in. This should bring u to download mode.

prbassplayer said:
If you would have actually searched you would have known it was a bug in the glitch. There are atleast 40 pages about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did start to see a few people with the problem, however many people do not follow up with what fixes their problem, and I did what a few people had said to do.
prbassplayer said:
If you flashed ICS you should know it takes 2 flashes for it to work first time. Having a jig around is always a good idea as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should of mentioned that I did flash a few times, 3 total I think, it was getting stuck at boot.
prbassplayer said:
Stuff doesn't work as intended. Keep in mind everything is still in dev and not all devices are the same. But you should have searched a little more and it would have ran =/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand that **** happens but honestly my old captivate could always get into recover mode and download mode no matter what, it's extremely frustrating that something changed with the newer models. One of my questions was what caused the brick? I did nothing wrong from what I see and it was running perfectly until I tried to restart/boot into recovery.
Oh and mbc663, thanks but download mode doesn't work at all, nor does recovery obviously.

I can't say exactly what you are doing. Best advice I can do Re download your .zips Flash back to stock GB and try again.

-Pirate said:
About 3 months ago my screen stopped working.. So I take it in and they give me a refurb captivate, looked brand new so I didn't mind. However, when I tried to get into recovery it didn't work, the 3-button-method just wouldn't work at all, period, so I try to get it to work, gets stuck in bootloop.. pretty much every time I try to flash a rom something goes wrong and I get stuck in a bootloop but I can usually get into recovery or download mode because I had CWM.
So I'm on maxq's rom and it's working great for the past 2 months, decide not to mess with kernals or anything, however today I decided to try ICS, load it up, everything's fine, then I realize my soft keys aren't working, search for awhile, can't find anything, finally just manually start looking through the rom pages, and someone said that if you have the problem to just odin back to stock and try again.
I odin back to stock, but now 3 button combo doesn't work.. So more searching, find that I can run the 3e fix by TRusselo, doesn't work because I need root, more searching on how to root without recovery, find "SuperOneClick", root with superoneclick, then run 3e fix, everything is working fine, I check my email and load the ICS files onto SD card, go to restart and go into recovery mode.. Bricked, stuck in a bootloop, won't go to recovery, won't go to download, nothing.
Why the **** was I able to do anything I wanted with my old captivate, but if I even root this one it bricks? And what did I do to even brick it? I only ran the 2 programs and both of them worked flawlessly.
I guess my only option is to usb jig it, but honestly now I'm convinced that the phone is just faulty, I want to run the thing over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last year, I had issues with my original Cap, and got a "new" one. I learned that the bulk of the Caps going out as replacements are referbs. The one I got was a 1008 build, and does not have 3 button recovery. There are minor differences with each and every Cap that's out there. That's why some have issues with ROM's and some don't, some can over clock like crazy, and some can't at all. My guess is you have a 1008 as well, but that really doesn't matter. You just have a different device and as you seem to already have learned.
It sounds like there is more research you need to do. Even though the devices are a bit different, if you are having issues with ROM's loading, then I would say it's more of a procedure issue, than one with your device.
My procedure, is,
Remove SD/Micro SD
Odin1 Click to Stock JF6, and Master Clear(This will erase EVERYTHING)
Root with One-Click Root
Use Sideload Wonder Machine to install ROM Manager, copy update.zip and 3buttonFix to my SD, then reboot into recovery
Once in recovery I install the 3buttonFix, and install my new ROM
For me this has proven to be a very good method versus going from one ROM to another. The Master Clear cleans EVERYTHING off of your SD, so there is no chance for anything to corrupt your new install. Anytime I read a post of a install gone FUBAR, USUALLY a Flash To Stock/Master Clear (FTS/MC) fixes it
Before using Odin 1 Click, check your devices build number!! If it is higher than 1012, I would NOT recommend using 1 click, there is a higher chance of hard brick on the newer devices

Kangi...if you flash a firmware package without bootloaders, you won't have to do the 3 button fix every time. And if you keep a copy of the update.zip on your pc you don't have to even root, let alone bother with side loading ROM manager.
Cezar has a no boots jf6 and after you run that, you can still use master clear in one click.

Sounds like you got one of the refurbs that is missing the SBL. Have you looked at this thread? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1129821
I've not had this problem myself but it sounds like that might help. If I remember reading correctly, once this is flashed it should stick as long as you don't flash any other bootloaders on top of it.

Its not missing the sbl. The sbl it has doesn't respond to key combos. Derpa sherpa moment for samsung I guess?

Rofl yeah...if it was missing the sbl it would be fuggin bricked!

studacris said:
Kangi...if you flash a firmware package without bootloaders, you won't have to do the 3 button fix every time. And if you keep a copy of the update.zip on your pc you don't have to even root, let alone bother with side loading ROM manager.
Cezar has a no boots jf6 and after you run that, you can still use master clear in one click.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, thanks. I'm such a creature of habit, I started doing it like this a bit over a year ago, and has worked flawlessly for me(just jinxed myself!) so I never saw a reason to "fix what aint broke".
I'll take a look at Cezar's thanks!

Yeah, missing SBL was a poor choice of words. My bad.

kangi26 said:
Last year, I had issues with my original Cap, and got a "new" one. I learned that the bulk of the Caps going out as replacements are referbs. The one I got was a 1008 build, and does not have 3 button recovery. There are minor differences with each and every Cap that's out there. That's why some have issues with ROM's and some don't, some can over clock like crazy, and some can't at all. My guess is you have a 1008 as well, but that really doesn't matter. You just have a different device and as you seem to already have learned.
It sounds like there is more research you need to do. Even though the devices are a bit different, if you are having issues with ROM's loading, then I would say it's more of a procedure issue, than one with your device.
My procedure, is,
Remove SD/Micro SD
Odin1 Click to Stock JF6, and Master Clear(This will erase EVERYTHING)
Root with One-Click Root
Use Sideload Wonder Machine to install ROM Manager, copy update.zip and 3buttonFix to my SD, then reboot into recovery
Once in recovery I install the 3buttonFix, and install my new ROM
For me this has proven to be a very good method versus going from one ROM to another. The Master Clear cleans EVERYTHING off of your SD, so there is no chance for anything to corrupt your new install. Anytime I read a post of a install gone FUBAR, USUALLY a Flash To Stock/Master Clear (FTS/MC) fixes it
Before using Odin 1 Click, check your devices build number!! If it is higher than 1012, I would NOT recommend using 1 click, there is a higher chance of hard brick on the newer devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't think anyone else was going to reply to this thread, whoops.
Thank you for helping me, but I'm still having trouble.
Rom manager doesn't show up in Market, Sideload wonder machine tells me [INSTALL FAILED OLDER SDK] with any apk of Rom manager I find.
kangi26 said:
3buttonFix to my SD, then reboot into recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you reboot into recovery when 3buttonfix hasn't been applied yet?
This sucks and is extremely frustrating, I feel like my captivate is just trolling me.

-Pirate said:
I didn't think anyone else was going to reply to this thread, whoops.
Thank you for helping me, but I'm still having trouble.
Rom manager doesn't show up in Market, Sideload wonder machine tells me [INSTALL FAILED OLDER SDK] with any apk of Rom manager I find.
How do you reboot into recovery when 3buttonfix hasn't been applied yet?
This sucks and is extremely frustrating, I feel like my captivate is just trolling me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I get home later tonight I'll link you everything you'll need. Again, VERY important, what is your build number? If it's 1012 or higher, don't use Odin 1 click
Sent from a autonomous device

kangi26 said:
When I get home later tonight I'll link you everything you'll need. Again, VERY important, what is your build number? If it's 1012 or higher, don't use Odin 1 click
Sent from a autonomous device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, finally got it working, I did exactly what you said, I found the rom manager 3.00.002 or whatever and that worked with sideloader, it took some messing around with but I'm running ICS now, thank you so much man, you've helped me so much, and now I can change roms and keep up to date without worrying about constantly soft-bricking.
As for my build number, I'm not sure, the only thing I see under build number in settings is: "IML74k"

-Pirate said:
Ok, finally got it working, I did exactly what you said, I found the rom manager 3.00.002 or whatever and that worked with sideloader, it took some messing around with but I'm running ICS now, thank you so much man, you've helped me so much, and now I can change roms and keep up to date without worrying about constantly soft-bricking.
As for my build number, I'm not sure, the only thing I see under build number in settings is: "IML74k"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The build number is actually under your battery, and looks like 10.06, 10.07, 10.08 and so on. It is the production date
Edit** And as a side note, do NOT try to use the 3buttonFix with a GB ROM, it WILL brick your phone in a really bad way. ONLY use it with 2.1 or 2.2

kangi26 said:
The build number is actually under your battery, and looks like 10.06, 10.07, 10.08 and so on. It is the production date
Edit** And as a side note, do NOT try to use the 3buttonFix with a GB ROM, it WILL brick your phone in a really bad way. ONLY use it with 2.1 or 2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it weird that I don't have a build number? It seems I can't post pictures without a few more posts, maybe this will work: deleted
And thanks for the warning on the 3buttonfix, I'm going to have to read more about bootloaders though, I don't understand what you and studacris were talking about earlier in the thread, haha.

-Pirate said:
Is it weird that I don't have a build number? It seems I can't post pictures without a few more posts, maybe this will work: imgurDOTcom/26sXGl.jpg
And thanks for the warning on the 3buttonfix, I'm going to have to read more about bootloaders though, I don't understand what you and studacris were talking about earlier in the thread, haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I havent seen that before, there doesnt seem to be a build#
Might want to pull that photo, it's not too good having your IMEI number publicly displayed

kangi26 said:
I havent seen that before, there doesnt seem to be a build#
Might want to pull that photo, it's not too good having your IMEI number publicly displayed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe because it's a refurb? and whoops didn't think about that.

-Pirate said:
Maybe because it's a refurb? and whoops didn't think about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure why, mine is a referb, and I have a sticker with mine on it. Ooh well, it is what it is
Sent from a autonomous device

[Q] JB advice

Hello everyone, im a noob on here and have a stock gingerbread (JW4) but rooted gt-i9000. im past my 24 months and can upgrade my phone at anytime but i love my sgs but am a bit annoyed that sammy are no longer creating firmware updates for it. so i decided to root it with the intention of finding a way of missing ICS and going straight to jellybean.
it seems the only way to go is by installing custom roms, but as im not particularly technical and not understanding the mechanics that well i dont want to / i am scared of messing with the phone without really knowing what im doing. ive heard of kernels but dont know what they are or what they do. ive dabbled with rooting but that is as far as ive got and im not convinced im not gonna break the phone if i go any further!
I got so far (thanks to a senior member on here in other threads) but have stopped for fear of not knowing what im doing and getting something wrong, so im hoping someone out there who's been in my position will be nice enough to help me further.
so basicly im asking for some help to find and install a version of JB that is near enough to what samsung would of supplied. ive seen it on a mates s3 and i like it thats why i want it on my phone, rather than buying the s3 (big brick of a phone)
Thanking anyone who helps in advance.
G.

first of all you shouldn't be afraid to mess your phone. it's really hard do brick it (believe me, i've semi-bricked my phone some times and it's running great now ). besides that, if you follow the tutorials exactly like as it's written you shouldn't get in trouble
second, do you have CWM recovery installed?

Sacob said:
first of all you shouldn't be afraid to mess your phone. it's really hard do brick it (believe me, i've semi-bricked my phone some times and it's running great now ). besides that, if you follow the tutorials exactly like as it's written you shouldn't get in trouble
second, do you have CWM recovery installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi and thanks for your reply! Yes ClockWorkMod root/recovery is where ive got to. The reason i finding this all so daunting is that is no 1 tutrial to follow, everyone seems to have a different way of doing it, either by experimentation or luck, and its just a bit confusing to a complete novice like me. I did try to find a How To section on here but it wasnt easy trying to trawl the 1000s of threads!

geoffjac10 said:
Hi and thanks for your reply! Yes ClockWorkMod root/recovery is where ive got to. The reason i finding this all so daunting is that is no 1 tutrial to follow, everyone seems to have a different way of doing it, either by experimentation or luck, and its just a bit confusing to a complete novice like me. I did try to find a How To section on here but it wasnt easy trying to trawl the 1000s of threads!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was exactly the same at first but now I am on jellybean 4.2 the scariest thing as far as upgrading to jellybean is the error u get wen upgrading cwm wen u first flash the upgrade but just hold the 3 button combo for about 10 seconds an u should be back into recovery it may take a few Trys it did with me then reflash it twice to be sure any problems after that will have answers on their threads so as long as you follow the installation instructions you will be OK
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium HD app

the basic procedure to flash a new rom is this:
Put the file in your internal sdcard
Do a Nandroid Backup!
WIPE (wipe data/factory reset + wipe cache partition + wipe dalvik) i also like to go to mount and storage and wipe /data, /datadata, /system, /cache.
flash zip from sdcard
reboot
if you are going to upgrade from froyo/GB to JB i recommend you to flash any ICS rom first (once i have a problem with upgrading from stock GB to MIUI JB

331 saeorge
Thanks everyone for your input.
I took the plunge and braved it and followed a tutorial "for dummies" and a youtube flick that someone had reference to the same tutorial, and decided on CM10 with GAPPS flash, and i now have JB 4.1.2. However i didnt either
1. do ICS first, or
2. do a Nandriod backup
!!!!!!!!
Got me worried now, I wonder if i should of done the ICS first - whats the benefit of this?
Nandriod Backup - what is this?
everything seems to be working fine, but i do have a couple of issues a) no 4x3 keyboard which i use for texting b) poor battery life.
im going to scour this forum for some answers, but if you have any immediate answers that would be very helpful.
Cheers
Geoff.

Thanks everyone for your input.
I took the plunge and braved it and followed a tutorial "for dummies" and a youtube flick that someone had reference to the same tutorial, and decided on CM10 with GAPPS flash, and i now have JB 4.1.2. However i didnt either
1. do ICS first, or
2. do a Nandriod backup
!!!!!!!!
Got me worried now, I wonder if i should of done the ICS first - whats the benefit of this?
Nandriod Backup - what is this?
everything seems to be working fine, but i do have a couple of issues a) no 4x3 keyboard which i use for texting b) poor battery life.
im going to scour this forum for some answers, but if you have any immediate answers that would be very helpful.
Cheers
Geoff.

nand backup is just like saving the stage of your phone before you start to flash it so you can go back if you need to. if you have problem you can always flash a stock rom via odin but you will lose your data.
about the keyboard i don't know if you can have it with ics/jb but try swiftkey x. way better

Sacob said:
nand backup is just like saving the stage of your phone before you start to flash it so you can go back if you need to. if you have problem you can always flash a stock rom via odin but you will lose your data.
about the keyboard i don't know if you can have it with ics/jb but try swiftkey x. way better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ok so no immediate panic about Nand backup then, however i prefer to write using XT9 or T9 setup (old skool) ill check out swiftkey see if allows it.
Cheers

geoffjac10 said:
Oh ok so no immediate panic about Nand backup then, however i prefer to write using XT9 or T9 setup (old skool) ill check out swiftkey see if allows it.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should make an nand backup now! it's always a good idea to have one

Surprised you never lost your imei jumping from GB to JB missing ICS.
I've jumped like that before, but lost my imei and had no service, I only had to reinstate my efs folder, but it's done that 2 out of 2 times that I've done it. Maybe you were just lucky or something..
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

knuckles1978 said:
Surprised you never lost your imei jumping from GB to JB missing ICS.
I've jumped like that before, but lost my imei and had no service, I only had to reinstate my efs folder, but it's done that 2 out of 2 times that I've done it. Maybe you were just lucky or something..
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that happened to my once too! my solution was to flash stock GB with odin

Originally Posted by knuckles1978
Surprised you never lost your imei jumping from GB to JB missing ICS.
I've jumped like that before, but lost my imei and had no service, I only had to reinstate my efs folder, but it's done that 2 out of 2 times that I've done it. Maybe you were just lucky or something..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sacob said:
that happened to my once too! my solution was to flash stock GB with odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh really??? just checked an my IMEI number is still there and i still have service! Why would jumping do that? More to the point, should i back it up just in case and if so how should i back it up? what if i back it up now on JB, and it misses it when i go back to GB??
....got me worried bout that now!!

geoffjac10 said:
Oh really??? just checked an my IMEI number is still there and i still have service! Why would jumping do that? More to the point, should i back it up just in case and if so how should i back it up? what if i back it up now on JB, and it misses it when i go back to GB??
....got me worried bout that now!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its usually only jumping from GB to JB that does it. Just use a root file browser, i personally recommend solid explorer btw, go to root, find the folder called /efs and copy and paste it onto your external sd for safe keeping. Its no big problem if you do lose your imei then, just copy and paste it back and overwrite.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

knuckles1978 said:
Its usually only jumping from GB to JB that does it. Just use a root file browser, i personally recommend solid explorer btw, go to root, find the folder called /efs and copy and paste it onto your external sd for safe keeping. Its no big problem if you do lose your imei then, just copy and paste it back and overwrite.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok done, thanks for the tip fella :good:

After being scared to do it, I flashed my Samsung Galaxy S 4 Active (I537) to KitKat

This is my first post and I'm going to try my best to not break a rule. If I do, I apologize in advance.
Thread thread is a sort of, "This is how I updated my phone from 4.2.2 to 4.4.2 and rooted it but your mileage may vary."
First, thanks goes to Sunderwear for his directions on how to push KitKat to the Samsung S4 Active as well as ROOT it. I rooted my 4.2.2 phone a few months ago and didn't realize doing so would prevent OTA updates. I went to the AT&T store to have them put 4.4.2 on the phone only to be told that the store didn't have the image (or whatever they said) and couldn't put it on my phone. Instead, they put 4.3, which turned out to be great because the directions pretty much have you going back to 4.3 in order to root.
BTW, if you are uninitiated, you may want to read this glossary page.
After having root in 4.2, I knew I wanted it in 4.4.2!
For the most part, I've been hesitant to flash the phone. I tried like hell to flash my first Android (Samsung S2 Skyrocket) only to brick it. (FWIW, if you can tell me how to fix it, I'd be gracious! It buzzes once and then twice and repeats.)
Anyway, I started in the thread above only to find that I now needed to download Odin. This, surprisingly, was difficult. I found this site (http://odindownload.com/) which I am convinced is some sort of hacked version of Odin because when I tried to install from there, my Symantic warned me. When I disabled it, the file tried to install a bunch of bloatware/spyware. It EVENTUALLY gave me Odin.
FYI, this thread was of no use. No download links.
Later on, after searching for something unrelated, I got to a "better" site. Unlike the link above, this site has a zip file compared to the bloat-ridden executable.
I learned that I had to use Odin 3.07 and NOT Odin 3.09. Odin 3.09 did not have the PDA button that would be central to me flashing the ROM to the phone.
I started my journey on the thread for the Stock AT&T Firmware Collection. I learned that the thread uses the last three characters of the build name to identify the build. For example, 4.3's build name is I537UCUBML2 but was referred to as "ML2". This was a bit confusing but I got the hang of it. I then went over to the 4.4.2 rooting thread. It was there that I read Sunderwear says that you need to downgrade to 4.3 to root 4.4. I was grateful that AT&T only updated me to 4.3!
Sunderwear's second post described how to root 4.4.2 if you had a rooted 4.3. Since I hadn't done that yet, I proceeded back to the firmware collection and found the thread to root my 4.3 phone.
I downloaded the files and loaded up the first file to flash. I made the mistake of keeping my phone plugged in while trying to put it in download mode. It was when I stumbled upon this page that gave me the clue that my phone had to be disconnected first before going into download mode.
Once done, I clicked Start and Odin flashed my phone! It took about 2-3 minutes.
The next step was to do saferoot. The thread didn't link it so here it is.
SafeRoot requires your phone to be in USB debugging mode. Directions were found by googling. You go to Settings, About Device, and click Build Number until you get a message saying you have enabled developer mode. Then go back out one screen and go into Debugging options and enable USB debugging.
One installed I rebooted the phone and everything worked...except for wifi and "some other stuff". The thread warned you about this so I didn't worry. I flashed the next file and rebooted. Updated SuperSU and everything worked!!
I verified that I had root by installing Root Checker.
All was great with 4.3! Now for what turned out to be the more agonizing part: Upgrading to 4.4.2.
Going back to the 4.4.2 rooting thread, I learned that all I needed to do was install SafeTrap to update to KitKat and then flash a couple more files. I downloaded pwnedkitkat.zip (link in the thread) and then installed SafeTrap. I presume that SafeTrap is some sort of bootstraping method of updating the firmware.
I copied the SafeTrap apk file, along with pwnedkitkat and the updated superSU zip files to my external SD card. Once everything was copied, I installed SafeTrap and then opened it. SafeTrap then offered me the option to install Recovery Mode. Once done, I restarted my phone.
I noticed a new splash screen after the Samsung splashscreen. I clicked the Menu button (left of home) to start the recovery process. I clicked "Install" and pointed it to the pwnedkitkat.zip file. This took the longest. Probably took 15 minutes but felt like an eternity. I wasn't sure if my phone bricked when the screen turned off! But upon turning it back on, it was still going.
The bar moved very slowly. But remained patient. After a long 15-20 minutes, it updated! SafeTrap gave me the option to reboot there but I followed the directions and installed SuperSU from the SD card. It was a quick install.
I restarted the phone! I was done!! Right?
My phone got stuck on the AT&T splash screen! I started to panic! What did I do wrong?!
I missed Sunderwear's step five:
5.Put your phone in download mode and flash the 4.4.2 stock boot.tar.md5 kernel and your phone will boot after a few minutes with root access enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Goes to show you to read everything. I missed it due to the line break. I downloaded the boot.tar.md5 file and put the phone back into download mode and push it via PDA in Odin (I presume PDA. It wasn't explicit.)
After a few hours of chewing my nails and wondering if I bricked it:
http://imgur.com/a/UFg6u#F5qFTdq
So thanks to everyone! Now if I could only unbrick my Skyrocket!

Outstanding instructions! Thank you for this. I wish all the instructions were as clear and detailed as this is.
:good:

I tried like hell to flash my first Android (Samsung S2 Skyrocket) only to brick it. (FWIW, if you can tell me how to fix it, I'd be gracious! It buzzes once and then twice and repeats.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you mean it vibrates every 2 seconds and doesn't turn on?

:good:

Great instructions and great story. Sounds like what most people like me go through every time we try to do something like this.

jimmietilt said:
do you mean it vibrates every 2 seconds and doesn't turn on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. The last time I looked into this was almost two years ago. It just sits in my drawer now.

dajabec said:
Great instructions and great story. Sounds like what most people like me go through every time we try to do something like this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think what got me was all the new terminology and unfamiliarity of flashing. Jailbreaking an iPhone (which I've done before I had an Android) is pretty simple. It's pretty much point and click. But ROMs, flashing...these all have definitions which can be a bit overwhelming, even to a technical person such as myself. I've compiled Linux kernels from scratch!
But there's something about making your phone unusable. Something that I cannot live without, especially as I'm searching for a job.
It's nerve-wracking and I especially got nervous when I was putting KitKat on since it took so long. But overall, I'm glad I did it.

Mike, I wish everyone's instructions were like yours. I am in a similar boat as you, currently on 4.2.2 rooted and unable to do an OTA. I am not really sure what to do as I do not want my phone to be wiped. Did you bring your phone to an ATT store or a Device Support Center? And when they flashed 4.3 did your phone lose anything?

Agent. said:
Mike, I wish everyone's instructions were like yours. I am in a similar boat as you, currently on 4.2.2 rooted and unable to do an OTA. I am not really sure what to do as I do not want my phone to be wiped. Did you bring your phone to an ATT store or a Device Support Center? And when they flashed 4.3 did your phone lose anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Backup using Samsung kies and go find the 4.3 Odin package. Hell I just use the Google backup feature which is good enough for me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

rdh28 said:
Backup using Samsung kies and go find the 4.3 Odin package. Hell I just use the Google backup feature which is good enough for me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to go through all of the trouble of reconfiguring all of my settings, restoring all of my app specific stuff, and just getting everything back the way I had it. Does Kies backup every little thing or just app data and contacts etc?

Agent. said:
I don't want to go through all of the trouble of reconfiguring all of my settings, restoring all of my app specific stuff, and just getting everything back the way I had it. Does Kies backup every little thing or just app data and contacts etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure but if you really want to upgrade it's worth the thirty minutes it takes to reconfigure
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Agent. said:
I don't want to go through all of the trouble of reconfiguring all of my settings, restoring all of my app specific stuff, and just getting everything back the way I had it. Does Kies backup every little thing or just app data and contacts etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Titanium Backup. Just make sure you don't restore system apps and you'll be fine.

rdh28 said:
Not sure but if you really want to upgrade it's worth the thirty minutes it takes to reconfigure
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, I will probably do it this summer, I'm just really busy right now and can't afford to risk anything happen to my phone
Devo7v said:
Use Titanium Backup. Just make sure you don't restore system apps and you'll be fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The system apps are one of the primary issues as that is what needs to be reconfigured, other apps can be backed up and restored easily.

Agent. said:
I am not really sure what to do as I do not want my phone to be wiped. Did you bring your phone to an ATT store or a Device Support Center? And when they flashed 4.3 did your phone lose anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took mine to the AT&T device support center. I called before going in and they pretty much told me it was going to be destructive. I had previously wiped my phone earlier that day in the hopes that it would receive the OTA update.
I'm not going to lie: it's nerve-wracking, but straight forward. I know sometimes it helps to have someone hold your hand while you do it. And for me, it was definitely in the camp of, "What am I going to do if my phone craps out on me?"
But like what someone else said: you can back up your settings within Keis. I didn't. I just did a wipe. I backed up my photos but that's about it. Everything else was in the cloud. The one thing I should have done was transfer my Authenticator keys to another device because I couldn't log into AWS (which does not give out backup codes like Google). I did end up switching to Authy (I can't link to it since I'm such a new user but you can find it in the Play Store) which allows you to have more than one device. It shares your secret key between devices so it's technically less secure. But I needed the flexibility in case my phone crapped out on me again.
Pro Tip: to install all your apps again, go to the Google play store on your device and click "My Apps". Long hold one of the apps and then select the check boxes of the apps you want to install.

And hey if you run into anything there's plenty of people who check this forum regularly. I've managed to root 4.2.2 , 4.3, and 4.4.2 while retaining full functionality, just from this forum...the information is out there good luck!!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Agent. said:
I know, I will probably do it this summer, I'm just really busy right now and can't afford to risk anything happen to my phone
The system apps are one of the primary issues as that is what needs to be reconfigured, other apps can be backed up and restored easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What system apps need to be reconfigured? I can't really see that many that it would take you more than 15 to 20 minutes.

Thank you guys, I need to get my phone serviced anyway as there is a yellow dot in the top left of the screen that won't go away. So if AT&T sends me a new phone I can do all of the dirty work and then transfer everything side by side from the old device. If they won't for whatever reason I will do what you guys suggested. So just to be clear I should follow the instructions to Odin to 4.3, root, then follow the upgrade/root instructions to 4.4.2?

Agent. said:
So just to be clear I should follow the instructions to Odin to 4.3, root, then follow the upgrade/root instructions to 4.4.2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally thing this is better since if you have 4.4.2 already, you have to downgrade to 4.3, root it and then put 4.4.2 on it.

At&t S 5 Active Restore Thread (NE4) (NO MORE SUPPORT)

NO MORE SUPPORT.....GAME OVER
Did you delete your data, system, safestrap is gone, only download mode and stock recovery are available? Do you want to start fresh and out of the box new?
(( FOR s 5 ACTIVE )) NE4​Thanks to @ted77usa & @Intub8 for the help. SAM MOBILE for the Firmware and steps. KNOX was not tripped. Nothing was after this. It worked perfectly.
Just FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS
Do this at your own risk. If you don't read and mess up your phone, its not my fault . As long as you can get into download mode, this will help out a lot. I am not responsible for what you do to your device.
Odin Back to s5 Active Stock. NE4​
Make sure you have the Samsung drivers installed before starting.
Samsung USB drivers
Make sure USB debugging is checked under settings/developer options. If you don't know how to do that, go to "about device" in settings, and click on "Build Number x5 till you unlock Developer options".
Extract (unzip) the firmware file (NE4) HERE
Download Odin v3.09 HERE
Extract Odin zip-file
Open Odin v3.09
Reboot phone in Download Mode (press and hold Home + Power + Volume Down buttons)
Connect phone and wait until you get a blue sign in Odin
Add the firmware file to AP / PDA
Make sure re-partition is NOT ticked
Click the start button, sit back and wait a few minutes
Note : Some users are getting stuck at long At&t screen, once odin finishes and you happen to get stuck, reboot to stock recovery and factory reset your phone.
It should boot up just fine after that. The At&t screen sometimes takes a while.
​
You can do this below if you want. I have done this about 5 or 6 times. #6 and 7 happens sometimes.​
I wanted to be totally fresh and wanted to use "Wipe Data (YES)" in safestrap. Here is what I did and what happened.
My phone has been really good since this and all is smooth.
Things to do to be fresh and start all the way over out of box style:
1. Make sure you have done a back up, and your ready to restore with Odin.
2. Go into Safestrap
3. Go to WIPE tab > Factory reset
4. Advanced wipe, (Wipe > Dalvik Cache, "NOT Micro SDcard"> Data, Cache, System)
5. For really starting over > next to Advanced wipe is "Format Data" do that and type YES
6. This will get rid of safestrap and everything so you will get a black screen once it deletes all.
7. Try to catch it and go into download mode before it boots to the Samsung screen (Which it will stay there FOREVER)
(As soon as your phone does this, try to catch it before the samsung screen and go into download mode. When it turns black, quickly hold Power + Volume down + home button. )
8. While in download mode, flash the restore firmware.
9. Let it do its thing and you will be factory new.
10. After it all settles down and you are back up and running, you can start like I do.
(Root with V3 (Make it Rain), Install and update SU, Reboot 3 times lol, install busybox, install safestrap, install xposed, reboot, install your modules, reboot, power down and boot back but go into safestrap and wipe dalvik cache and regular cache. Reboot. lol- Install all your apps you like or have your backups from titanium on your sd card and restore) Reboot and go into safestrap again and fix permissions and reboot lol...... BAM. (Your phone should be sick and you should throw up on it)
LINKS
NE4 (THE MAIN FILE YOU NEED)
[KITKAT:ND3]
LATEST BETA FILE: Safestrap-KLTEATT-ND3-3.75-B03.apk
XDA Downloads Safestrap
Mirror 1 (Crackflasher) Safestrap
BUSYBOX
SUPERSU

Just make sure the model number matches yours and you should be all set. That file should contain everything you need to get back to stock. Follow the directions listed underneath the firmware.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Thanks. All is good and I can confirm this works on the At&t S 5 Active (NE4).
I am fresh to start over.
Edit: All is good. Rooted, Busybox, Froze bloat etc. Safestraped, Backuped, Phone is running great!!

Intub8 said:
Just make sure the model number matches yours and you should be all set. That file should contain everything you need to get back to stock. Follow the directions listed underneath the firmware.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Its working!!!!! I thought this wasn't out yet. Looks out to me.
I will update OP and get on my XDA app to hit thanks. Thanks for pointing out the simple directions I failed to see on SAM mobile. My phone is back

LuckyColdJohnson said:
Thanks. Its working!!!!! I thought this wasn't out yet. Looks out to me.
I will update OP and get on my XDA app to hit thanks. Thanks for pointing out the simple directions I failed to see on SAM mobile. My phone is back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad that worked out for u bud.....[emoji41][emoji106]
☆Swyped From SFive SS Edition☆

I wonder if this would work on the regular S5? If someone tries and it does please report back....THanks

LuckyColdJohnson said:
I wonder if this would work on the regular S5? If someone tries and it does please report back....THanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WWWHYY would you even want to know if this will work when you have your own firmware?! Then you try and convince someone else to take the plunge and try instead of you doing it? Just wondering why... cause i'm very baffled right now.

Caliesv said:
WWWHYY would you even want to know if this will work when you have your own firmware?! Then you try and convince someone else to take the plunge and try instead of you doing it? Just wondering why... cause i'm very baffled right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhhhh. I'm sorry you feel that way. I was running s 5 ROMS just fine on my phone. Their basicly the same but with a few different specs.
What plunge are you talking about dude? I have soft bricked my phone (formated data) and used this to start fresh. The more we know the better. I have done it. Its fine. I have ran NCE NE4, you must not know whats going on here. That what this thread is for. Restoring your phone to factory defaults. I have done it for the Active and if someone did it on their regular s 5 than I want to know.

LuckyColdJohnson said:
Uhhhh. I'm sorry you feel that way. I was running s 5 ROMS just fine on my phone. Their basicly the same but with a few different specs.
What plunge are you talking about dude? I have soft bricked my phone (formated data) and used this to start fresh. The more we know the better. I have done it. Its fine. I have ran NC2 NE4, you must not know whats going on here. That what this thread is for. Restoring your phone to factory defaults. I have done it for the Active and if someone did it on their regular s 5 than I want to know. THATS IT. Now go here for being mean > CLICK ME @Caliesv
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL! nice actually made me laugh! lol i hear ya man. i was just wondering why. and you full fulled my wondering. thanks

Caliesv said:
LOL! nice actually made me laugh! lol i hear ya man. i was just wondering why. and you full fulled my wondering. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its all good. I'm glad I made you laugh too. Really. I'm just messing with ya a little....This thread is for Active users. Like I said, if this can work for the regular S 5, then I will update the OP for S5/S5 Actives only. Thats all. I was on NCE (A regular S 5 ROM) when I did this and it worked perfectly.

LuckyColdJohnson said:
Its all good. I'm glad I made you laugh too. Really. I'm just messing with ya a little....This thread is for Active users. Like I said, if this can work for the regular S 5, then I will update the OP for S5/S5 Actives only. Thats all. I was on NCE (A regular S 5 ROM) when I did this and it worked perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries man lol. yeah i have an active too. i hope we get our own thread soon. And thanks for the steps, tons of people are going to need it lol

Caliesv said:
No worries man lol. yeah i have an active too. i hope we get our own thread soon. And thanks for the steps, tons of people are going to need it lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
10-4.....It really helped me when I screwed up. This worked 100% for me. I have flashed over 5 different ROMS from T-Mobile, International, as well as At&t ROMs we have. Sometimes its better to start all the way over fresh. Sometimes we get into a pickle and need to start over. This will help us.....Thanks !!!!

Continued thanks for being our official S5 Active tester. I'm glad to hear you got it back to running and that you were able to find the firmware for our G870A. This will come in handy when I get my phone past the point of no return, it usually takes me a month or so but I'll get there.
Please keep us informed as your tests, trials and discoveries continue!

thepktrckt said:
Continued thanks for being our official S5 Active tester. I'm glad to hear you got it back to running and that you were able to find the firmware for our G870A. This will come in handy when I get my phone past the point of no return, it usually takes me a month or so but I'll get there.
Please keep us informed as your tests, trials and discoveries continue!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. Looking at a GPS issue now. Something has screwed it all up. Probably a module or two (exposed) Almost tempted to restore again and test before each install.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

If you go back to stock and the GPS still doesn't initiate let me know. There was a way to hard reset the GPS that I came across on the gs3 that may work. Every time I flash a rom if it's acting goofy I wipe everything and go back to 100% stock. Sometimes things get stuck and left behind that can muck things up. Think of it like a colon clense for your phone. Glad the Odin worked for you.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium HD app

Intub8 said:
If you go back to stock and the GPS still doesn't initiate let me know. There was a way to hard reset the GPS that I came across on the gs3 that may work. Every time I flash a rom if it's acting goofy I wipe everything and go back to 100% stock. Sometimes things get stuck and left behind that can muck things up. Think of it like a colon clense for your phone. Glad the Odin worked for you.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Please share if you don't mind. I broke the GPS lol. I don't believe flashing this official firmware did it though, I think flashing different ROM's did it but who am I......I found a GPS fix I used for my Note 3 (Kit Kat) You have to flash it in recovery. Is that how yours is? Here is the file for you to check out if you want to. I haven't flashed it yet though. >>>> Deleted Link ....That didnt work. Got random reboots.

LuckyColdJohnson said:
Yes, Please share if you don't mind. I broke the GPS lol. I don't believe flashing this official firmware did it though, I think flashing different ROM's did it but who am I......I found a GPS fix I used for my Note 3 (Kit Kat) You have to flash it in recovery. Is that how yours is? Here is the file for you to check out if you want to. I haven't flashed it yet though. >>>> Deleted Link ....That didnt work. Got random reboots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Found it after about an hour of looking , You must Odin back to a stock ROM first.
((((2. Enter into dialer *2767*3855# (Will do a HARD reset, no internal storage will be lost except the usual data)
3. Boot up again and run... )))
keep in mind this was the method to fix the gps on the note 2 and it may or may not still be a good dialer code for your s5.

Intub8 said:
Found it after about an hour of looking , You must Odin back to a stock ROM first.
((((2. Enter into dialer *2767*3855# (Will do a HARD reset, no internal storage will be lost except the usual data)
3. Boot up again and run... )))
keep in mind this was the method to fix the gps on the note 2 and it may or may not still be a good dialer code for your s5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I restored a back up and it's working again. Something I installed did it. I'm trying to figure out what did. It could be anything. Thanks for this.

Caliesv said:
WWWHYY would you even want to know if this will work when you have your own firmware?! Then you try and convince someone else to take the plunge and try instead of you doing it? Just wondering why... cause i'm very baffled right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And @Caliesv I would ask you Why Not? The whole point of unlocking/rooting/building custom ROMs is because WE CAN, and how better to learn what we can and can't do then by trying? Just because a device has its own firmware has absolutely no bearing on what ROM you flash, granted as the default firmware it likely wont flash do to a signature mismatch but as a custom ROM why not?
I might just build one for the Heck of it.

GPS is a problem still. About to re-flash the restore and see what happens without root. Will report back.

help with no data on any ROM coming back from M from maybe?

Hey guys, I am having some problems going from JDX down to a 5.1 ROM. I cannot get data on any of the ROMS I am trying.
I have tried to download a few radios seperate and flash them at the start, or after the fact and still nothing. I also manually went to the apn to set it up but the correct one is already there and that didn't work.
Is there something I need to flash to make it work correctly? I'm stumped!
thanks!

none
Did you check and make sure the bootloader was configured correctly? I don't know if it even changes it, I will see what mine says. If you have to downdrage it, you will have to search further, I don't know how to do that on this particular phone
Read this http://www.gottabemobile.com/2015/06/15/5-reasons-to-skip-android-m-beta-preview/
Downgrading is a Hassle
If you do decide to try the Android M beta release, you’ll have to completely erase your entire device and start over from a fresh install of Android. Users will need to backup apps and pictures, transfer all their data, re-download everything and set of the device the way they’d like. Then, if you decide you want to go back to Android 5 Lollipop, users will need to erase the device and do this all over again. It can be quite the hassle, time consuming, and frustrating for those new to Android, or aren’t used to doing this often.
Here is a youtube vid on how to downgrahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TazsmCuA5Cwde
BL moto-apg8084-71.08 (sha-32b8854, then the date it was made
baseband d4.0-9625-02.95
product variant shamu xt1103 32gb p3a0
cpu apq8084 esi.1
That's what mine says, and your issue does sound like the BL got changed
Sorry I'm not more help, but that's what comes to mind rightaway

wow thank you do much for replying. That is what I thought too. I had 0 problems before with any ROM then I decided to try the JDX M preview ROM and since then going back hasn't worked.
I tried to download several bootloaders and radios and flashing them and using the toolkit to flash them. No luck I will watch that video and read that post and see if it helps me any.
Again, thank you!

so I downloaded it his way and flashed it his way and I still get no data.
gah!

none
You flashed the stock RUU? right? you should have gone to a google page that had the stock roms in them, it had links as well on the YT link I gave you, try again, I watched the vid and the maker was talking pretty fast, if you still have issues DL teamviewer to your computer and I will get on your puter and help ya out

lol, downgrading the bootloader will do nothing. im on m, with the m bootloader, and have hone to 5.1.1 a few times. always keeping my m bootliader.
if your apn is 100% correct, id just boot up, and eventually youll catch the signal, as long as its not disabled, or data isnt disabled.
of course, your sim card cohld have gone bad. they do die every now and then.

musicman625 said:
You flashed the stock RUU? right? you should have gone to a google page that had the stock roms in them, it had links as well on the YT link I gave you, try again, I watched the vid and the maker was talking pretty fast, if you still have issues DL teamviewer to your computer and I will get on your puter and help ya out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Hi sorry for the delayted response.
Basically for whatever reason no CM ROMS would work at all. I tried some AOSP ones and they are completely fine and have no problems with them.
I Downloaded ROM Manager and will give a look into other CM ROMs in a little while to see if it works.
Thanks so much for all the help!

Mackie011 said:
Hi Hi sorry for the delayted response.
Basically for whatever reason no CM ROMS would work at all. I tried some AOSP ones and they are completely fine and have no problems with them.
I Downloaded ROM Manager and will give a look into other CM ROMs in a little while to see if it works.
Thanks so much for all the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you got it back
---------- Post added at 09:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:04 AM ----------
simms22 said:
lol, downgrading the bootloader will do nothing. im on m, with the m bootloader, and have hone to 5.1.1 a few times. always keeping my m bootliader.
if your apn is 100% correct, id just boot up, and eventually youll catch the signal, as long as its not disabled, or data isnt disabled.
of course, your sim card cohld have gone bad. they do die every now and then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you like M? I was thinking about giving it a twirl, decided to wait until the bugs were gone, and it's more refined